Decoding Ancient Alloys: A New Perspective on Chinese Bronze Casting with Dr. Liu and Prof. Pollard

In this episode, we dive deep into the mysteries of ancient Chinese bronze casting with our esteemed guests, Dr. Liu and Professor Pollard. The duo brings to light an intriguing aspect of archaeological research—understanding ancient alloying practices, key to the mass production of Chinese bronzes.Our discussion centers around the Rites of Zhou, an Eastern Zhou text which has perplexed researchers for more than a century. It contains six formulae, or recipes, for casting different forms of bronze using two components: Jin and Xi. The exact interpretation of these components has remained elusive, leaving a gap in our comprehension of early metallurgical practices.Dr. Liu and Professor Pollard present a novel interpretation derived from their analyses of pre-Qin coinage. They propose that Jin and Xi were not pure metals as previously thought but pre-prepared copper-rich alloys. This suggests an additional, unaccounted step in the manufacturing process of copper-alloy objects, altering our understanding of this ancient technology.Join us as we unravel the intricacies of Chinese metallurgy with Dr. Liu and Professor Pollard, a journey of discovery that promises to fascinate linguists and archaeologists alike.Keywords: Ancient Chinese Bronze, Alloying Practices, Archaeology, Metallurgy, Rites of Zhou, Jin, Xi, Copper-rich Alloys, Pre-Qin Coinage.Cambridge University: Pollard, A., & Liu, R. (2022). The six recipes of Zhou: A new perspective on Jin (金) and Xi (锡). Antiquity, 1-14. doi:10.15184/aqy.2022.81